1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a continuous static image capturing device and a method of operating the device. More particularly, the present invention relates to a continuous monitoring device capable of capturing a series of static images automatically.
2. Description of Related Art
In an office or at home, the image of a document is usually captured by a scanner and then stored inside a computer as an electronic file. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional platform type scanner. FIG. 2 is a listing of the steps required to operate a conventional platform scanner. As shown in FIG. 2, a user must switch on the power source in step s200 and then place a scan document on a scanning platform in step s202.
However, in step s200, the user normally has to wait for a warm-up period before initiating an actual scanning. During this waiting period, the scanning head 10 is normally hidden behind the scanning platform 40 as shown in FIG. 1. In fact, the scanning head 10 may not be seen from above when a platform cover is raised. The scanning head 10 can be seen only when a driving program that drives the driving component inside the scanner in step 204 is initiated and subsequent pre-scanning step s206 and scanning step 208 is executed in sequence.
The scanning steps depicted in FIG. 2 present no problem. However, in an office environment, a peripheral device such as a scanner is often positioned in a central location and shared by a number of users. Users need to shuttle from their working desks to the scanner. Hence, it is always desirable to save time in the actual scanning operation.
A type of device that can replace a conventional camera in capturing images from a scene is the digital camera. However, a common drawback of both conventional and digital cameras is that a photographer must be present to initiate the image capture. In actual fact, the image of a static scene such as a flower can be captured automatically without having to have a photographer on standby. Hence, a device capable of capturing a static scene in the absence of a photographer is a great convenience to users.